it seemed like a good thing in August when sales of the $40,000 car set a monthly record of 2,800. But a closer look shows that things aren’t what they seem for the cutting-edge car.

Sales rose mostly because of discounts of almost $10,000, or 25 percent of the Volt’s sticker price, according to figures from TrueCar.com, an auto-pricing website. Other pricing services gave similar numbers, and dealers confirmed that steeply discounted Volts are selling better than a few months ago.

GM’s discounts on the Volt are more than four times the industry’s per-vehicle average, according to TrueCar estimates.

Eventually, GM will have to offer huge incentives to move Volts off the dealer lots — incentives, I imagine, that will make the existing $7,500 tax incentive (paid for by you and me) look small.

A politically-friendly electric motor allows GM to sell a $13,000 three-banger for about $33,000 (shoddily-equipped). Generous subsidies allow them to first mark up to price to $40,000. Somewhere between $13,000 and $33,000 is the real market-clearing price of this car. [Emphasis added]

So, GM has offered incentives which, along with tax breaks, bring the purchase price of the Volt down to about $25,000 — and sales are picking up, although still far short of expectations. So it’s a safe bet that even bigger incentives are sure to follow.

How long will the battery last? How much does it cost to replace the battery? How soon will the battery be obsoleted by newer technologies? How much is the resale value of the car? How much is the repair cost?

Last week I took my car for “repair”. After a 1 1/2 computer check costing $125, nothing was found wrong, the lights were reset.